thanks for the picture and many thanks for the "bump." I've heard it refered to before, but was a bit clueless about it. (Oh great...just realized...I'm about to get sucked in to a new area of the forum. Like I have the time. LOL)

It's for off-topic conversations. Sometimes we may put OT posts on the discussions side, but that's not the norm. For the most part our forum has a wide-ranging amount of discussion--they may be about seeds, seedlings, the plants we grow or the gardens we make with what we do. On occasion the forum warmth spills over and the familial connection may come though in an OT post, usually made by someone who's having strong emotions and needs support. We're like an extened family here, and like all families we have our fair share of characters. Hope this helps. T

Hi Andrea, Best wishes and prayers to you and your family! I'm not sure if it's too late if you're preparing for surgery tomorrow, but I work at a blood center that is participating in a clinical trial for people with moderate to severe Chron's disease. You may want to look into this if you haven't heard of it all ready. I'm not sure of all the requirements for enrollment in the study, so I'm not sure if it's applicable to your husband. You or your doctors and the study group would I'm sure have more information. Please note that the website says that the Phase II clinical trial enrollment is complete, but we're currently participating in the Phase III since the Phase II was successful so I know that it is currently an option for eligible patients...I'm a firm believer in having lots of information & options so I thought I'd pass it along in case it's useful to you. (I'm not directly related to the study group, my lab just thaws & tests the cell products to prepare them for infusion) http://www.osiris.com/clinical_trials_prochymal_crohns.php#faq_how

Yes, FOAS, I agree about multiple servings per meal. But, the next time you order pasta in a restaurant make a guage of how much is on the plate knowing that 1/2 cup is 1 serving. Here, a plate usually has 2-3 cups (I've had plates with even more than 3 cups). That's too much pasta & it's also likely white pasta. I'd be surprised to learn that Americans are not getting enough grain in their diets. Whole grain? Yes, not enough but white flour products...no. Many people who eat the huge plate of pasta for dinner also have had a large sandwich for lunch (likely a roll that's more than the 2 servings of bagged sandwich bread) and possibly more grain for breakfast (English muffin, toast, cereal, donut). Also, with the pasta dinner...often it is served with a crouton containing salad & garlic bread...more grain servings. I eat 5 meals/day...always have. I started doing that when I was young because I was always hungry. Eventually, found out I had thyroid problems, had surgery, but still continued with the 5 meals/day just much smaller. I was fortunate in that my jobs allowed me to duck away somewhere & eat pretty much whenever I felt the need. I know/understand that not all jobs have the benefit of flexible schedules. Still, mid-day snacks can quite easily be upped to mini-meal status. Something like hummus/pita crisps & a piece of fruit. One benefit of more meals/day is to help keep blood sugar levels even & not get ravenous unless you're a lumberjack, or equivilent. Piling all your grains (carbs) into an evening meal is also not condusive to weight loss. Better to have that restaurant pasta meal at lunch. My point is that I believe that due to supersizing many Americans do not realize what's a "serving". Our perceptions are also supersized. While I'm ranting (and I'll quit after this)...people also eat too fast! It takes our bodies about 20 minutes of chewing to feel satiated. If we gulp our meal in 12 minutes we'll likely still think we're hungry even after an appropriate amount of food. If we just stop eating though our bodies will eventually catch up with our forks & register that we're full. So, just slowing down is a great weight management tool. Eating too fast is a pitfall of many singles & families that don't eat meals together. Eating together around a table & enjoying a conversation naturally slows down our eating. My DH is struggling with this issue now. After 6 years of living apart Mon-Fri he had started gulping his dinner down in front of the TV. Now, together full-time he's being forced to slow down because I'm talking to him. He'll still gobble a sandwich when he's alone in 3 minutes flat. :) /t